Summary

Michael Collins was the third member of the Apollo 11 mission that landed on the moon. His father was a Major General in the United States Army, so it was natural for Collins to join a branch of the armed forces. He chose the U.S. Air Force. With a great interest in aeronautics and astronomy, Collins attended the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School and was accepted into NASAs third group of astronauts, along with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. He flew on the Gemini 10 mission before being the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Although, he was the only crew member of that mission not to set foot on the moon, Collins knew he was a very necessary part of the mission and felt a great sense of accomplishment as he orbited the moon alone in his spacecraft.